PBI-Colombia accompanied José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CCAJAR) at historic IACHR hearing, May 12-13

Photo by CCAJAR.

On May 11, PBI-Colombia tweeted:

“@CorteIDH [the Inter-American Court of Human Rights] calls #Colombia to judge surveillance and illegal intelligence against human rights defenders @Ccajar whom we have accompanied since 1995. We express our deep admiration and solidarity for their tireless work in defense of human rights and search for justice so that #NoSeRepita [there is no repetition].”

Last month, CCAJAR explained:

“For the first time, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) will try a case involving illegal surveillance and intelligence on human rights defenders.

This is the case brought by the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (Cajar), which has denounced being a victim of persecution practices for more than 30 years, in which its members have been the focus of illegal intelligence activities by different State agencies, stigmatizing speeches, threats, attacks, exiles, smear campaigns, psychological torture and harassment.”

And this morning CCAJAR tweeted:

“On May 12 and 13, the hearing @Ccajar against the Colombian State for persecution against our organization is held at the @CorteIDHl.”

Once the hearing began, CCAJAR tweeted:

“In the worst years of persecution we felt that the organization was going to end. Half of the lawyers of @Ccajar had to go into exile. We always appeared on lists of threats from paramilitary groups.”

“The hearing begins with the intervention of the @CIDH. In its merits report, the IACHR found that the persecution of the @Ccajar occurred in a context of impunity and harassment against defenders in Colombia.”

We are following CCAJAR’s tweets about this hearing here.

The hearing is also being web-cast on CCAJAR’s Facebook page.